The Gardens of the painter Henri Martin have been completely restored thanks to the Mission Bern and the Fondation du Patrimoine. It is under the aegis of the ARJEHM (Association for the Renaissance of the Extraordinary Gardens of Henri Martin) chaired by the writer Jean-Pierre Alaux, that for three years, volunteer work camps have been organized every month to restore these places that the artist had imagined when he bought the Marquayrol property.
These years of incessant efforts, combined with those of two restoration companies from Lot, have made it possible to restore these gardens to their former glory. The landscape architect Guillaume Laizé was responsible for this rehabilitation work by designing the green spaces based on the painter’s paintings. Pergolas, gazebos and ponds have been faithfully restored and the flowerbeds have been replanted with a shimmer of colors, as in the time when Henri Martin found his inspiration there.
This summer, three events will complement the visits which will take place each weekend. Classical music, Gypsy Jazz concert and theatrical performance around the life of Henri Martin will brighten up this summer season, to which will be added an exhibition of the works of Delphine Epron in the painter’s former studio.
The official inauguration of the gardens will take place on Saturday July 6 in the presence of representatives of the Heritage Foundation with the exceptional arrival of television host and producer Mireille Dumas. Indeed, she will be the godmother of the Jardins de Marquayrol for having followed, since the purchase of this property by the opera singer Jean-Jacques Lala, the renovation which seemed impossible. “Everything happened in the Pyrenees,” she confides. We were, Jean-Pierre Alaux and I, with Stéphane Bern on the terrace of the Grand Hôtel de Luchon during a television festival. Jean-Pierre gave him this totally crazy idea aimed at recreating as faithfully as possible the gardens of Henri Martin in Labastide-du-Vert, when they were nothing but ruins and wasteland. Stéphane was enthusiastic about this project and defended it with the Heritage Foundation. Today, the dream has come true,” marvels Mireille Dumas. It is therefore to show their gratitude to the sincere and humanist television woman that the president of the ARJEHM insisted that she inaugurate these Gardens. They will be open to the public from July 7 until Heritage Days, so that everyone can marvel at them in turn.
